Breast and Ovarian Cancers' Incidence Trends Among Iraqi Women During 2012-2022 and Their Relationship to Fertility Patterns.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the incidence trends of female breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) among women in Iraq and their relation to fertility patterns.

Methods: This retrospective study utilised the Iraqi Cancer Registry annual reports for the years 2012-2022 and the World Bank data for Iraqi crude birth rate and total fertility data for the years 1992-2002. Simple linear regression analysis examined the relationship between these variables and incidence rates of BC and OC.

Results: A total of 63,446 women were newly diagnosed with BC from 2012-2022. The overall age standardised incidence rate (ASIR) of BC was 46.68/100,000 females. It increased significantly from 36.61/100,000 in 2012 to 61.89/100,000 in 2022 with an average annual percentage change (AAPC) of 4.83% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.69-7.08; P < 0.001). The overall ASIR rate of OC was 6.22/100,000 women. It increased significantly from 4.35/100,000 in 2012 to 6.90/100,000 in 2022 with an AAPC of 4.58% (95% CI: 2.40-6.88; P < 0.001). The ASIR of BC was negatively and significantly associated with crude birth rate (CBR) and total fertility (TFR) rate (R² = 0.727; P = 0.001 and R² = 0.728; P = 0.001, respectively). The ASIR of OC was negatively and significantly associated with CBR and TFR (R² = 0.699; P = 0.001 and R² = 0.696; P = 0.001, respectively).

Conclusions: Iraqi women are experiencing a rising incidence of breast and ovarian cancers over time. Lower fertility rates may partly play a role in this trend. Research and initiatives are necessary to identify and control the factors that are increasing this risk.